Arakan Army provides rice to flood victims in Arakan State

By Admin 12 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
12 August 2023, Kyauktaw

Villages and camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships that suffered recent flooding have been provided rice by the Arakan Army (AA), the military council and some social organisations, but more food supplies are still needed.

The Arakan Army provided 70 bags of rice and the military council supplied nine sacks of rice to flood-hit Myatanzaung IDP camp in Mrauk-U on August 10.

“We are vulnerable groups in need of support. Whoever helps these groups should be accepted. It is important for us not to be hungry,” said the abbot of the Myatanzaung Monastery.

Thirty-two IDP shelters at Mrauk-U’s Myatanzaung displacement camp were partially destroyed and nine IDP shelters were completely destroyed by the floods. The Myatanzaung displacement camp houses 1,175 IDPs from 243 households. At present, the water has receded, but those whose houses are built on low-lying land are still unable to live there.

The Arakan Army provided 164 rice bags to the Nyaungchaung IDP camp in Kyauktaw, home to 629 households and a population of 2,966, on August 9.

The IDPs say they have not yet received assistance from the junta or social organisations.

“If we get support, whether it is little or a lot, it can be OK if we struggle to find food with the support provided. Now that the water has receded, we are able to return to the displacement camp, but we still have difficulties getting food,” said U Hla Maung Kyaw, an IDP man from Nyaungchaung displacement camp.

The Nyaungchaung IDP camp, home to 629 households and a population of nearly 3,000 near Thayee Creek, a tributary of the Kaladan River, reported a rise of more than 6 feet, damaging 142 shelters and prompting the evacuation of more than 500 IDPs.

The Arakan Army also donated rice and eggs to families affected by the floods in Minphu Village, Minbya Township, according to local residents.

“After the water receded, the poor had difficulty getting food. Farmers also have difficulties with planting paddy. If the relevant organisations can help the flood victims, there are situations that can be solved a little,” said U Maung Hla, a local man from Minphu Village.

About 70 percent of the paddy fields and three drinking water ponds in Minphu Village were also damaged due to the flood.

In the wake of the flooding in Arakan State, organisations are working to provide assistance, but residents say that it is not enough.

Residents say that if the military regime allows international aid groups to travel freely, in cooperation with local civil society organisations, it will be more convenient for the flood victims.

“The junta has banned international organisations from providing assistance to locals in Arakan State,” said a resident of Mrauk-U. “I think it depends on the junta’s restrictions on international organisations. The donors do not want to come to Arakan State because the junta checks relief aid being transported to Arakan State.”

The Arakan State military council has said that evacuees and IDPs will be provided with rice by the junta’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

Nearly 7,000 people in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships have reportedly evacuated their homes temporarily due to continuous rains and high tides since August 4.